Makers

On Tuesday, October 21, from 8 pm to 9 pm, KLRU will be honoring American women and their increasing participation in war—from Vietnam to the present—as nurses, soldiers, journalists, diplomats and spies.

Makers: Women in War is a program that’s part of a national initiative called Stories of Service designed to increase dialogue and solutions as our nations veterans transition to civilian life.

Among those featured on Makers: Women in War are Linda Bray, the first woman to lead troops into battle, and Valerie Plame Wilson, whose career was sabotaged after she was “outed” as a high-level spy. Viewers hear from war correspondents Molly Moore, Clarissa Ward and Christiane Amanpour about life on the battlefield. The film shares the stories of military leaders who have broken through gender barriers, like General Angela Salinas, at her retirement the highest ranking woman serving in the USMC, and Vice Admiral Michelle Howard, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. Navy.

The PBS programs are part of a national, multi-platform initiative called Stories of Service and a community engagement campaign funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The Stories of Service collection on PBS’ website includes rotating films and videos, encompassing both new and archival programs, resources for educators and students courtesy of PBS LearningMedia and resources for veterans. More programming is planned for later this year including Craft In America “Service” (November 2014). The conversation will continue across social media using #ServiceStoriesPBS.

Makers is a program that depicts history of the modern women’s movement, featuring first-person accounts from movement leaders; opponents; celebrities; political figures; business leaders; and ordinary women.

As part of the event, KLRU will present eight short videos featuring local women and girls who are inspiring others through their actions. These women were nominated by the community to be featured as part of KLRU’s participation in the national Women and Girls Lead campaign. A preview from the upcoming PBS documentary MAKERS: Women Who Make America – a film that shares the stories of exceptional women whose pioneering contributions continue to shape the world in which we live – will also be shown. This documentary airs February 26th at 7 pm on KLRU.

Women featured in the Women and Girls Lead project videos will be:

Katherine Craft is the founder of Conspire Theater, a program that provides incarcerated women a healing and empowering experience through the arts.

Julieta Garibay co-founded the Undergraduate Leadership Initiative, an advocacy group comprised of fellow undocumented college students, supporters, and family.

Rina Hartline is director of Texas State Relations for Centerpoint Energy and mentors other women as the founder of the Association of Women in Energy.

Peggy Kelsey created The Afghan Women’s Project to share stories of Afghan women to help change stereotypes.

Amy Koch is a graduate of Project SEARCH at Seton Healthcare Family, a best practice for hiring individuals with developmental disabilities created at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center.

Esther Reyes is Executive Director of the Austin Immigrant Right’s Coalition and has helped lead a statewide effort to protect the human rights of Texas’ undocumented immigrants.

Ndeye Boury Silla is one of our community’s outstanding teenagers. The daughter of Senegalese immigrants, she raised more than $900 to purchase school supplies for children in her parent’s native country.

Marissa Vogel started the non-profit organization Little Helping Hands, which creates and manages volunteer opportunities for younger children and their parents.

The Inspiring Women Leaders event and local MAKERS initiative is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

MAKERS: Women Who Make America is produced by Kunhardt McGee Productions, Storyville Films and WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Ark Media. Major funding is provided by Unilever and its Simple® skincare brand. Additional funding is provided by The Charles H. Revson Foundation.